In the food processing and canning industry there has long been a requirement for heating and cooling the canned product. This same requirement exists for bulk packaging of such foods, as in drums of two hundred liters, or fifty-five gallons or thirty gallons. To sterilize such a food product properly in a sealed container, it is necessary that the container be agitated at the same time that heat is applied to its exterior. Subsequent to the sterilization process, it is necessary to cool the container for subsequent handling and storage.
Various types of equipment have long existed for such thermal conditioning of smaller containers, such as those of five gallons or less. Exemplary of such equipment is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,607,698 to Martin. In such prior art equipment a suitable conveyer has generally rolled the containers along a platform while shaking them and spraying them with a fluid of appropriate temperature. However, much of this equipment has been limited in its usefulness to relatively small containers. Much of this equipment is designed such that its strength is inherently insufficient to handle large containers, such as drums. Other such equipment suitable for handling drums is limited in its usefulness by being capable of handling containers of only one size, thus requiring costly duplication of equipment or time-consuming conversions.